676. Part 2 of our conversation with Frances Kolb Turnbell about Spanish Colonial Louisiana. Frances recently published an important history entitled, Spanish Louisiana: Contest for Borderlands, 1763–1803.  What happens when a fading French colony is handed over to a Spanish Empire determined to impose order? In this episode, we dive into Frances Kolb Turnbell’s landmark book, Spanish Louisiana. We explore a Mississippi Valley that was far more than just a line on a map—it was a "fluid zone" where Spanish governors, defiant French colonists, Indigenous diplomats, and enslaved people seeking manumission constantly negotiated the terms of their own freedom. From the violent New Orleans Revolt of 1768 to the secret trade networks that fueled the American Revolution, Turnbell reveals how the people of the borderlands often shaped imperial policy more than the monarchs in Madrid ever did. Frances Kolb Turnbell is a historian of Early America and the Atlantic World with a specialization in the eighteenth-century Lower Mississippi Valley. She earned her PhD from Vanderbilt University and currently serves as the editor of the Tennessee Historical Quarterly while teaching at the University of North Alabama.

The oldest play about Louisiana, author James Workman wrote it

as a celebration of the Louisiana Purchase. Now it is back in

print for the first time in 222 years. Order your copy today!

History of Beignets."

"To Make Bennets" (quoted from The Book of Cookrye,

1584)

Put butter and water over the fier in a faire pain, and when

it boyleth put therto fine Flower and Salte, and so let them

boyle, but stir them well for brenning, and when it is wel

thick, put it into an earthen pan, then break Egs into it and

boyle them so togither, than boyle a good quantitye of Butter

clarified over the fire, and with a spoone put in your other

stuffe and so frye them till they be browne, and that doone,

serve them foorth with Sugar on them.

Butler's Order #28 is issued.

The New Orleans City Council officially designated Congo

Square as the only place where enslaved people were permitted

to gather and dance.

Parc Hardy, 1290 Rees Street

Breaux Bridge, LA 70517

May 2-4, 2026

Website: festivalguidesandreviews.com

Email: [email protected]

Phone: (337) 332‑6655

The Breaux Bridge Crawfish Festival is one of Louisiana's

signature spring celebrations, featuring live Cajun and Zydeco

music, fresh crawfish dishes, and a lively family‑friendly

atmosphere:

festival favorites.

stages throughout the weekend.

honoring Breaux Bridge's title as the Crawfish Capital of

the World.